THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY VNU-HCM

BA023IU
Project Management

Session 1
Project Management

Lecturer: Tung Nhu Nguyen

Lecturer
Tung Nhu Nguyen, PhD
School of Business,
International University – Vietnam
National University Ho Chi Minh City
Room: A1. 308

E-mail: nntung@hcmiu.edu.vn
❑ Understanding on the concepts of project planning and organization,
project control and project communications.

❑ Understanding on the stages of a project from initiation to termination.

❑ Analytical skills for successful project management.

❑ Insights into human behavior and people skills for project management.

❑ Project scheduling techniques including WBS, PERT,

GANTT Charts.

❑ Use of Project Management Software Ms Project.

 LEARNING ASSESSMENT

• Assignments 30%
• Mid-Term Exam 30%
• Final Exam 40%
 Knowledge Check
Every Session, you have a weekly quiz.

❑True
❑False
 Knowledge Check
Every Session, you have a weekly quiz.

❑True
❑False
 Course Readings
• Textbook: Meredith, J. and Mantel Jr, S. (2012), Project
Management: A Managerial Approach, 8th edition, Wiley.

• References: A Guide to the Project Management Body of

Knowledge, 3rd Edition (PMBOK Guide), Project Management
Institute, November 2004.

• Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., & Shafer, S. M. (2013). Project

management in practice, 5th edition. Wiley Global Education.
• Additional materials, cases on Blackboard.
 Session 1
Basic Concepts of
Project Management
❑Define a project
❑Describe major characteristics of a project
❑Determine main goals of project management
❑Define what project management is and when it
is needed
❑Explain PMI project management framework
❑Identify tools for project management
❑Identify stages of project life cycle and risks
associated
• A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product or service. Temporary means that the project has an
end date. Unique means that the project's result is different
from the results of other functions of the organization (PMI,
2001)

• A complex effort, made up of interrelated tasks, performed

by various organizations, to be completed within a limited
time frame, with a well defined set of objectives, schedule
and budget. (Archibald, 1976)

• “A unique set of activities meant to produce a defined

outcome within an established time framing specific
allocation of resources.” (Harvard Business Review)
Common grounds
• A project has a beginning and an end
• A project has limited resources
• A project follows a planned, organized method to meet its
objectives with specific goals of quality and performance.
• Every project is unique
• (A project has a manager responsible for its outcomes)

What a project isn’t

• Explorations
• Go on indefinitely
• One team or one person working alone
• Creating the same thing multiple times
• No constraint of time, cost, or performance
 Question
What is the differences between a program and
a project, between a project and a task?
 Program vs. Project

• In discussion of project management

sometimes it is useful to make a distinction
between Project, Program and Task.
– Program: A long-term undertaking which is
usually made up of similar projects.

– Task: A short term effort (few weeks to few

months) performed by one organization, which
may combine with other tasks to form a project.
• Importance: Important enough to get support.
• Scope: Set of desired end-results
• Complexity: Interdependencies of tasks therefore
requiring careful co-ordination
• Uniqueness: Some elements that are unique (no
familiarity, no precedence due to customization
requirement, risks, etc.).
• Limited lifetime with common phases:
Start and end.
• Resources: Limited resources (time, finance, personnel)
• Conflict: Conflicts for limited resources (among
projects, stakeholders)
 Knowledge Check
Example of a Project:
The World Bank wanted to improve the productivity of 120,000
small-scale farmers in Nicaragua by 30% in 16 years. Its rapid-
results initiatives included “increase pig weight on 30 farms by
30% in 100 days using enhanced corn seed.”

Explain 7 characteristics of the above project:

 Knowledge Check
Example of a Project:
The World Bank wanted to improve the productivity of 120,000
small-scale farmers in Nicaragua by 30% in 16 years. Its rapid-
results initiatives included “increase pig weight on 30 farms by
30% in 100 days using enhanced corn seed.”
Complete the blanks:
• Importance: Increase income and then standard of living for farmers ..……………
• Scope: Improve productivity for 30 farms for small-scale farmers in
Nicaragua.…………………….
• Lifecycle: 16 years………………
• Uniqueness: … innovation: enhanced corn seed ……………….
• Interdependencies:…multiple tasks requiring coordination among many organizations
• Resources: financial resource from WB………..
• Conflict: …different stakeholders (investor/donor/sponsor, implementation agencies,
farmers, local authorities, government agencies (agricultural department), etc have
different expectations of the use of the WB fund. ……..Sponsor expects efficiency and
effectiveness and long-term sustainability, while farmers want fast result, govt wants to
protect the environment, or local community/local authorities prioritize other industrial
project..
 Knowledge Check

To be deemed a “project” your activity must have the

following characteristics?

A.An official start and end date

A.An outcome that provides a benefit or value

A.Requires an allocation of resources

A.All of the above

 Knowledge Check

To be deemed a “project” your activity must have the

following characteristics?

Answer:

D. All of the above

 Knowledge Check
Consider a project of your own or from your
research. Explain the seven characteristics that make
it a project.
• Importance: ?
• Scope: ?
• Lifecycle: ?
• Uniqueness: ?
• Interdependencies:?
• Resources:?
• Conflict:?
Sometimes called
triple “constraints”
• Cost (budget limit)
• Time (schedule)
• Performance
(scope)
In addition to three direct/main goals, what
may be indirect goals of a project? (hint: a
community-based project)
 Project Goal Trade-off
ENHANCE MEET SACRIFICE
Cost Pay up to $5,000
extra if it saves 10
days
Schedule Save up to 10
days
Quality Must meet
Scope Must meet
Source: Adapted from Timothy J. Kloppenborg and Joseph A. Petrick,
Managing Project Qualify (Vienna, VA: Management Concepts, 2002): 46.
 Project objectives achieved

• A project is deemed successful when it

achieves objectives of all four dimensions
• Failure in any of them has an impact in the
others, a delay in a project has an impact on
its cost, and an increase in scope has an
impact in both time and budget.
• Trade-offs have to be considered
continuously.
 Example 1

• Building your own house

– Time: 4 months, before the rainy season
– Budget: not over VND 750 mil.
– Scope: As per architect’s blueprint
specifications
– Quality: Satisfy your whole family members,
no frictions with neighbors, no actions from
housing development agency…
 Example 2
• “Put a man on the moon and return
him safely to Earth by the end of the
decade at a cost of $9 billion.”
– Scope: Put a man on the moon and return him
safely to Earth
– Schedule: By the end of the decade
– Cost: $9 billion
 Break-out Session
• How do YOU define project success and
failure?
• What are some common reasons for project
success or failure?
 Break-out Session
Project Success:
• Meeting Agreements
• Cost, schedule, and specifications met
• Customer's Success
• Needs met, deliverables used, customer satisfied
• Performing Organization's Success
• Market share, new products, new technology
• Project Team's Success
• Loyalty, development, satisfaction

Source: Adapted from Timothy J. Kloppenborg, Debbie Tesch, and Ravi Chinta, "21st Century
Project Success Measures: Evolution, Interpretation, and Direction," Proceedings, PMI
Research and Education Conference 2012 (Limerick, Ireland, July 2012).
 Break-out Session
Why Projects fail?
• Insufficient resources and/or time
• Unclear expectations
• Changes in the scope not understood or agreed upon
• Stakeholders disagree on expectations
• Inadequate project planning

Source: Adapted from Timothy J. Kloppenborg, Debbie Tesch, and Ravi Chinta, "21st Century
Project Success Measures: Evolution, Interpretation, and Direction," Proceedings, PMI
Research and Education Conference 2012 (Limerick, Ireland, July 2012).
 Knowledge Check
Which of the following is not one of the four
dimensions of project success?

a) opening new opportunities for the future

b) number of people working on the project
c) impact on the customer
d) business impact on the organization
 Knowledge Check
Which of the following is not one of the four
dimensions of project success?

a) opening new opportunities for the future

b) number of people working on the project
c) impact on the customer
d) business impact on the organization

Ans: b (Refer to the section: Three Project

Objectives: The “Triple Constraint”).
 Some Terms

Deliverable: Any measurable, tangible,

verifiable outcome, result, or item that must
be produced to complete a project or part of
a project.

Discuss: This course requires your team to

complete a project plan. What are its
deliverables?
• “Project management is the application of knowledge,
skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of activities
in order to meet the requirements of a particular project”
(PMI, 2000)

• “Unique process consisting of a set of coordinated and

controlled activities with start and finish dates,
undertaken to achieve an objective conforming to
specific requirements, including constraints of time, cost
and resources” (ISO 10006)
• The main purpose for initiating a project is to
accomplish some goal
• Project management increases the likelihood of
accomplishing that goal
• Project management gives us someone (the project
manager) to spearhead the project and to hold
accountable for its completion
• Greater organizational complexity
• Higher probability organizational policy will be
violated (managing temporary, non-repetitive
activities and often acting independent of the
organization)
• Getting right people, right time to address the
right issues and make the right decisions.
• Conflict (due to limited resources)
• Better control of financial, physical, and human resources
• Improved customer relations
• Shorter development times
• Lower costs
• Higher quality and increased reliability
• Higher profit margins
• Improved productivity
• Better internal coordination
 Discussion
In this course, you are required to work on a
course project (i.e., a team project plan).
How might project management be used when
you work on this course project?
 Time Cost Scope
Management Management Management

Quality Integration HR Management

Management Management

Risk Communication Procurement

Management Management Management

Source: PMI
Quantitative techniques Behavioral techniques

• Economic analysis and • Conflict management

appraisal • Decision making and
• Planning and scheduling problem solving
• Budgeting and resource • Team building
management • Leadership
• Cost/schedule control
• Risk analysis
• Project financing
 Technical People
skills Skills

Budgeting, Scheduling, Leading, Motivating,

Documenting Listening, Empathising
Figure 1-3
Time Distribution of Project Effort

Figure 1-4
Another Possible Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-5
Slow – Rapid – Slow
Slow – Rapid – Slow pattern
Estimate of Project Cost
Risks During Project Life Cycle
Risks During Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-6
Risks During Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-7
 Knowledge Check
The conventional project lifecycle can be
described as a pattern characterized by
____________.
a) parabolic progress
b) logarithmic progress
c) slow-rapid-slow progress
d) extremely slow progress
 Knowledge Check
The conventional project lifecycle can be described
as a pattern characterized by ____________.
a) parabolic progress
b) logarithmic progress
c) slow-rapid-slow progress
d) extremely slow progress

Ans: c (refer to Project Life Cycle)

 Knowledge Check
In a conventional project lifecycle, as work
progresses, uncertainty about the expected
outcome should __________.
a) become a constant
b) decrease
c) increase
d) fully removed
 Knowledge Check
In a conventional project lifecycle, as work
progresses, uncertainty about the expected
outcome should __________.
a) become a constant
b) decrease
c) increase
d) fully removed

Ans: b (refer to risk associated with project life

cycle)
 Individual exercise
Give an example of your project implemented by
you or in collaboration with other people.
• Its objective(s)?
• Were you able to complete within triple
constraints of project management? Why or why
not?
• Which tools of project management did you use?
• How did you measure the success of the project?
 Group Exercise: Define a Project
The “real” project
What is the perceived need or purpose for what we are trying to do?

What caused people to see this as a problem that needs to be solved?

What criteria are people going to use to judge this project as a success?

Stakeholders
Who has a stake in the solution or outcome?

How do the project stakeholders’ goals differ?

What functions or people might the project activities or outcomes affect?

Who is going to contribute resources (e.g., people, money, time, tools, space)
End of Session 1